Surgical volume is rising, and the need for perioperative nurses continues to grow. Same-day procedures are becoming more common, even for complex cases such as total joint replacements and spine surgery. With the decrease in in-patient, post-surgical stays and more surgeries being performed in various ambulatory settings, the skillset for…

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Editor's Note A protest from RNs at the University of Chicago Medical Center on September 15 was the latest outcry from the workforce to shed light on safety concerns rising from the chronic staffing shortage; more than 580 nurses have left UChicago Medical Center since September 2021, and the country’s…

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Editor's Note This study from The Wharton School, Philadelphia, and Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, examines changes in unemployment among healthcare workers (HCWs) from January 2015 to April 2022. The researchers found that: Prepandemic, 2.28% of HCWs and 3.82% of non-HCWs reported being unemployed. During the pandemic, 3.18% of…

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Editor's Note Four more schools and hospitals have recently started nursing programs and partnerships or plan to do so to address the nationwide nursing shortage, the September 15 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. West Virginia University, Morgantown, is expanding its nursing program to Beckley, West Virginia, and opened a new campus…

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Is there really a nursing shortage? “Is this a question or a statement?” asks Ruth P. Shumaker, BSN, RN, CNOR, executive director perioperative services, Regional One Health, Germantown, Tennessee. “It’s a little bit of both,” she answers. “Some of it has been self-made, and some of it is because we…

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Editor's Note Seven schools and hospitals have added nursing programs and partnerships to help tackle the US nursing shortage, the August 10 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. LSU Health New Orleans’ School of Nursing will offer three accelerated courses, beginning in January 2023. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, is constructing a…

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Editor's Note After 124 years, the Lutheran School of Nursing in St Louis has closed, the August 1 St Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The School was the last nursing diploma program in Missouri. On July 27, South City Hospital’s CEO wrote a letter to faculty announcing the news, citing enrollment and…

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Editor's Note Eleven schools have recently started nursing programs and partnerships to address the persistent nursing shortages around the country, the July 19 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Included in the list: Yale School of Nursing in Orange, Connecticut, began an online master’s degree program. Penn Nursing in Philadelphia began an…

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Concerns about the pipeline of OR nurses existed long before COVID-19, but the pandemic has heightened these concerns. Many nurses plan to exit the profession in the next few years (sidebar, Workforce outlook). Unfortunately, the pipeline of replacement nurses is nearly dry as student experiences in the OR have been…

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Is technology part of the answer for nursing staff woes? As COVID-19 patients continue to fill hospital beds, caregivers are feeling exhausted, burned out, and unappreciated. OR nurses have been especially hit hard, as shifts in surgeries and overflowing patient wards stretch OR nurses beyond their limits and comfort zones.…

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